Popular Christmas movie actor Neal Bledsoe is leaving the Great American Family network following Candace Cameron Bure's anti-LGBTQIA+ comments.
"I hope GAF will change, but until everyone can be represented in their films with pride, my choice is clear. I look forward to working with creators who put no limits on the stories we tell and follow through on their message of values with open arms," he said in a statement given to Variety.
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Last month, Candace made headlines after leaving the Hallmark Channel to become the chief creative officer for GAF. In speaking about the switch with the Wall Street Journal, the "Full House" actress said the network had no plans to feature same-sex couples. "I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core," Candace told WSJ. The team at GAF, Candace said, are "Christians that love the Lord and wanted to promote faith programming and good family entertainment."
The comments drew ire from many in Hollywood. Neal, who starred in "Christmas at the Drive-In," "Must Love Christmas" and "The Winter Palace" for GAF, is among them.
"From my mentors in college, to the myriad of agents and managers, writers and directors, teachers and colleagues, and, of course, my dear friends and family, who have all touched my life, I owe them a great debt," he said. "As someone who struggled as a young man with our society's extremely narrow definition of masculinity, it was their community that provided me with refuge and a guiding light when my life felt lost."
"And now, if I cannot stand up for that community in their time of need, my debt to them means nothing. So, I want to be very clear: my support for the LGBTQIA+ community is unconditional – nothing is worth my silence or their ability to live and love freely in a world that we are lucky enough to share with them," he said.
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The actor, who appeared in multiple episodes of Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," acknowledged that Candace and GAF are entitled to exclude LGBTQIA+ storylines or characters, but he thinks it's "wrong" and he wants no part of it.
"Everyone is entitled to their beliefs, and these are mine: the recent comments made by leadership at Great American Family are hurtful, wrong, and reflect an ideology that prioritizes judgment over love," he says. "I was raised as a Christian, and believe in the essential message of love and forgiveness. That said, I could never forgive myself for continuing my relationship with a network that actively chooses to exclude the LGBTQIA+ community."
In closing his statement, Neal noted that he was donating to an LGBTQ organization.
